The Edmonton Oilers are facing their first do-or-die playoff game since 2006 on Sunday as they prepare to host the Anaheim Ducks for Game 6 of what has been a riveting and at times controversial NHL playoff series.
The Oilers will take to the ice at Rogers Place shortly after 5 p.m. MT without one of their most-reliable rearguards, as coach Todd McLellan confirmed on Sunday that defenceman Andrej Sekera will sit out the remainder of the series due to an injury he sustained in Game 5. It’s widely believed Eric Gryba, who hasn’t played a shift in the series with the Ducks so far, will take his place in the lineup.
During the pre-game warmup, Oscar Kelfbom – who had missed part of Game 5, was missing from the ice. It was not clear if he would be in the lineup.
The Oilers lost Game 5 in Anaheim in dramatic fashion; a 4-3 defeat in double overtime thanks to a goal by Corey Perry. The Oilers had seemed poised to take a 3-2 lead in the series in Friday’s game as they led 3-0 until late in the third period. Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf scored for Anaheim in the final 3:16 of the hockey game.
READ MORE: Oilers give up 3-0 lead to lose Game 5 to the Ducks
Watch below: Global News’ post-game coverage of Game 5 in the playoff series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks.
The tying goal proved to be a controversial one, and was subject to a brief review by officials. The Oilers have mused out loud over whether goalie Cam Talbot was interfered with by Ducks forward Ryan Kesler. Video of the goal appeared to show Kesler grabbing at one of Talbot’s pads as the goal went in.
Despite the loss, the Oilers impressed in many ways in Game 5.
Talbot set a new team playoff record for the Oilers with 60 saves during the game.
The stamina of the team’s defence was tested with Sekera, Klefbom, Matt Benning and Kris Russell each missing part of the game due to injury, forcing other players to log heavy minutes and at some points, forwards even had to be used as defencemen.
“We were fortunate to get a couple of them back,” McLellan said in a video posted to the team’s Twitter account.
Also, centre Connor McDavid seemed to thrive with Drake Caggiula being inserted into the top line with him. Leon Draisaitl spent significant time playing centre and while McLellan said he thought the German forward played “a hell of a game,” he did not confirm if the lines would be tweaked on Sunday.
McDavid scored one of the Oilers’ goals in Game 5, doing so for the third-straight game, and appears to have shaken off questions about whether he can overcome the tighter checking seen in NHL playoff games.
The team captain was visibly disappointed with Friday’s loss after the game, but also seemed confident heading into Game 6.
“You don’t have to say much about that,” McDavid said. “Definitely disappointing.
“It sucks but we’ll be back here Wednesday.”
Oilers players who spoke to reporters before Game 6 on Sunday said they look forward to putting Game 5 behind them and also expressed confidence in their ability to push the series to a Game 7 in Anaheim.
“I think we need that type of attitude,” Talbot said of McDavid’s promise to get to a Game 7 in a quote posted to the Oilers’ Twitter account. “No one’s rolling over in this room. We’ve got a resilient team, that we’ve shown all season long.”
“That game’s over, we can’t dwell on it,” Maroon said. “Everyone feels good, everyone is positive and we’re focused on Game 6 tonight.”
“It’s frustrating but for the most part, we played a really good game,” Draisaitl said. “We’re looking forward to tonight.”
“We played a pretty solid game for 57 minutes there and we just let it slip away in the last three,” Talbot added. “We were able to do a lot of good things last game – we’re going to need those again tonight.”
If the series is pushed to a Game 7 in Anaheim, the Ducks will look to overcome a miserable recent history in such scenarios.
In the past four years, the Ducks have been knocked out of the playoffs in Game 7s at home.